Security Council must focus on human rights now

Iraq: Security Council misses opportunity, must focus
on human rights now

(New York) As the UN Security Council
today adopted a resolution on Iraq with 14 votes to 0,
without the participation of Syria, Amnesty International
urged the UN body not to lose sight of the need for human
rights and justice in that country.

As crucial evidence
about many thousands of people who "disappeared" is being
destroyed, amidst a fragile law and order situation, Amnesty
International urged the Security Council to focus now on
human rights and justice issues and to verifying the human
rights and other responsibilities of the occupying powers in
Iraq.

"The human rights provisions in the resolution just
adopted are few and weak," Amnesty International
said.

"The Security Council has just missed an important
opportunity to address the appalling human rights violations
suffered by numerous Iraqis in the past."

"They also
passed by the opportunity to ensure that the occupying
powers act within the limits of their powers under
international humanitarian law and protect the human rights
of Iraqi citizens, now and in the future."

"The Security
Council must redress this in the coming weeks, build on the
human rights language in the resolution and ensure that the
UN will play an effective role to promote and help protect
human rights in Iraq. This should be central to its future
deliberations" Amnesty International said.

The resolution
'affirms the need for accountability for crimes and
atrocities committed by the previous regime' but the
Security Council has so far ignored the appeal of several
non-governmental organizations to establish a UN commission
of experts to consult Iraqi society, analyze past crimes and
recommend the best options to address them.

The
resolution asks the UN Secretary-General to appoint a
Special Representative for Iraq with a broad mandate that
includes 'promoting the protection of human rights,
promoting the safe return of refugees, and encouraging
capacity building in policing and justice areas. However,
the powers of the Special Representative, which is a crucial
and comprehensive component of the UN's human rights role,
are only vaguely defined.

Amnesty International reiterated
its recommendations that the Security Council put in place
concrete measures for the protection of all human rights of
all Iraqi citizens at the centre of its discussions in the
coming weeks. In particular, the Council should:

call for
the creation of an effective well-funded human rights field
presence in Iraq that can operate pro-actively to promote
and help protect human rights and help rebuilding the
justice system; ask the Secretary-General to establish an
impartial commission of experts to examine and analyze past
and recent international crimes committed in Iraq and advise
on the best judicial mechanisms to address them; call on the
USA and the UK, as occupying powers, to report promptly and
regularly to the Security Council on how they observe their
obligations to protect the human rights of all Iraqis and to
respect their obligations and limitations on their power
that apply to them as Occupying Powers under international
humanitarian law; and take measures to ensure the effective
protection by the Occupying Powers of particularly
vulnerable groups including women, refugees and foreign
nationals.

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